


let me hold your hummingbird heart

by kuroyukihorror



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Canon Compliant, Heart Attacks, Idiots in Love, M/M, Secret Crush, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29960043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroyukihorror/pseuds/kuroyukihorror
Summary: "What about Alexis? What about Syrus? Zane, what about me?!" He had Zane by the collar now, pulling him in close. He wasn't thinking, acting purely on impulse."What about you, Phoenix? You ruined my life. It's your damn fault I'm like this anyway. I had to crawl my way up from the very bottom because of you."Or; Zane and Aster share the same space in the Dimension World. Neither of them know how to express themselves without hurting the other first.
Relationships: Marufuji Ryou | Zane Truesdale/Edo Phoenix | Aster Phoenix
Kudos: 6





	let me hold your hummingbird heart

Aster stood back, admiring his own handiwork. Now their little manor was entirely dust-free. Really, Zane was such a pain when it came to that stuff, he refused to touch anything with dust on it. He claimed allergies, but Aster was beginning to suspect that it was just a longform excuse to have him do a proper dusting. The whole place was in good shape for an abandoned building, but obviously it wasn’t perfect. The two of them had managed to spruce it up into something livable even to Aster’s high standards.

“You gonna stand there and watch me all day, or are you gonna speak?” He didn’t bother even glancing to the hallway Zane was watching him from. Aster had always had a sort of super-hearing sense, so even a man as quiet as the one and only Zane Truesdale could not sneak up on him.

“You cleaned this place up well. You know a lot about cleaning for a kid who’s never done a chore in his life.” He retorted, head tilted back slightly, almost derisive in the way he looked at the younger. Aster knew not to take it personally, snide comments and cold glares were how he treated everyone. If anything, the occasions where he had a chance to tear into him but didn't showed the amount of respect he held for the other. Though he would never admit to caring at all, the idiot.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. What were you even doing up there?" He cocked an eyebrow, clearly prompting an answer. Yet he received none, only the sounds of the old wood creaking as he stalked off back down the hallway he came from. "Hey! I was talking to you!" Nobody ignored Aster fucking Phoenix like that. He ran after him, getting a solid door slammed in his face for his troubles. He knocked three times, more of a concession he made to ensure Zane wasn't doing something dirty in there, before letting the door swing open anyways.

Zane was doubled over on the floor, gritted teeth sucking in air as he grasped his chest. Aster rushed over to his side, trying to guide him to lay on his back. Fuck. Did that even matter when someone was going into cardiac arrest? He wasn't sure.

"Zane! What the hell's happening?" He demanded in a panic, fully expecting no answer.

"It's… Nothing." He muttered, each syllable forced into the air.

"Nothing?! You're having a heart attack!" And if he couldn't help, Zane could die here. It'd be partially his fault, too.

"It's not… A heart attack, idiot." He almost sneered, but any cutting edge to his words were undercut by the expression of pain. He was starting to come off it now, still shaking and breathing hard but no longer grasping at his own chest like that could help the pain in any way.

"Alright, genius, then tell me what it is. We've lived together for a while now, if you might die on me, I need to know." He cringed even as he spoke. He didn't mean to come off as so callous with regards to his life. Then again, Zane of all people probably didn't care.

"My heart… It's slowly failing me. One day, it's gonna give out." That was all he said, and for a long moment, those words hung in the air like a cloud of noxious gas. Suffocating, all-consuming, Aster felt almost choked.

"...And you were just gonna go? Just like that, without telling anyone?" Maybe he was angry. Maybe he was furious that the only person who didn't seem to care about the well-being of Zane Truesdale is Zane Truesdale. "What about Alexis? What about Syrus? Zane, what about me?!" He had Zane by the collar now, pulling him in close. He wasn't thinking, acting purely on impulse.

"What about you, Phoenix? You ruined my life. It's your damn fault I'm like this anyway. I had to crawl my way up from the very bottom because of you. All the shocks weakened my heart. But I never would've had that collar put on if it weren't for you." He nearly snarled at Aster, both hands on the floor to support himself. They both knew that if he really wanted to, he could wrench himself from the younger's grip, but he didn't.

"Don't pin this on me! Maybe I knocked you out of the pro leagues, but the whole Hell Kaiser thing? That was all you." He snapped, letting go and moving back. He needed to clear his head and think before doing anything else. Otherwise, he might do something they'd both regret.

"...So you don't know how long you've got left, right?" He asked after a moment of long silence. Zane nodded without any words, staring straight through him, like there was something just behind him that was more important to Zane than Aster would ever be.

"Then I guess I can't put it off any longer. I don't want you dying before I can tell you." Zane blinked a few times, refocusing in on Aster. What did he just say…? "Zane, I care about you. In a way that I don't really quite understand myself. You… Keep me up at night. In a good way." He paused. God, why did he suck with words. "...I like you. Like, really like you. That's why I'm so upset." He stood up, brushing off his pants. "Be as casual as you want about it, but I'm not going to just brush off when you say you don't know how long you've got left to live." He turned his back to Zane, stalking off towards the door.

How dare he? He has this life-threatening condition, and not only did he not tell anyone, he tried to conceal it from them so they wouldn't know until it was far too late? It was selfish, plain and simple. It made him so mad, he-

He felt a hand latch around his wrist, and he stopped, slowly turning his head. Zane had stood up and approached behind him, all without him noticing. How couldn't he hear him?

"Aster… You… Make me feel things too. Good things." If there was any man alive who could be more stilted than himself, it was Zane Truesdale. "And I… Would like to keep feeling them. For as long as I have left." The silver-haired boy was stunned into silence. Zane wanted something with him? Honestly, he expected that his confession would ruin their relationship, turn it awkward now that his feelings had been aired out. But… He felt the same way.

"...So. Are we… A thing?" He asked awkwardly.

"I don't want what we have to change. But…" Zane paused. Was the infamous Hell Kaiser blushing? "If you wanna call me something, I don't care." Aster just smiled. Not a teasing smile or a shit-eating grin, but a genuine smile.

"I'm gonna head to bed. All that cleaning you stuck me with tired me out. You coming?" He tilted his head in invitation. Zane's eyes softened. He supposed that's the closest he'd ever get to a smile out of the terminally cranky man.

"Fine." He allowed Aster to lead him to his room, neatly folding each piece of his outfit as he took it off. He changed into a more comfortable sleeping outfit, flopping on the bed and patting the space beside him. Zane, however, just stripped down to his underwear before joining him.

"You don't wear clothes to bed?" Aster asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Waste of time." He answered with a shrug, letting his eyes close.

"Alright, then. Suit yourself. It'll suck when you have to get up and get out of bed half-naked, though." He turned over onto his side, letting sleep envelop him.

When he woke up with a warm body at his back, Aster Phoenix truly could say he was happy. Despite everything happening outside this manor, the inside was a home better than any he'd ever known.


End file.
